Google to Launch 84-Foot Flying Wind Turbine From the Future

Tapping the energy in the air up there

One of Google's pet projects is the dream of gathering wind energy from high altitudes, where the breeze blows stronger and more reliably. The tech giant has tested prototypes of a flying wind turbine meant to do just that. Now it's about to get serious, as Google said at SXSW it will launch an 84-foot version of the futuristic energy-gathering flier.

The turbines fly to nearly 1,500 feet up. At that altitude, the eight propellers become turbines that can send 600 kw of power back to the surface. It's a system that uses tech developed in part by Makani Power, a startup that Google bought in 2013.

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Google tested the 28-foot version of the turbine at blustery Pigeon Point in Pescadero, CA, The Verge says, and came away satisfied that the airborne turbine wouldn't fly apart. The 84-foot version will begin test flights in April.